After the New England Patriots dispatched the Atlanta Falcons on a fog-filled Sunday night at Gillette Stadium, Bill Belichick recalled — in stunning detail — another fog game he coached in much earlier in his career.
“Not the most normal situation, but my first year in the league with Baltimore in ’75,” Belichick said after the Patriots’ 23-7 win over the Falcons. “We beat Miami. That didn’t clinch the playoffs, but it put us pretty close in Baltimore. The final kick came down to Toni Linhart.
“It was about a 40-yard field goal, and you could see the line of scrimmage, you could see the two teams line up for the field goal, but once the ball left his foot, you had no idea whether it was good or not good. We had to wait for the official signal.
“So that’s the first year. I haven’t had anything that bad since.”
Belichick was a special assistant with the Baltimore Colts at the time — his first coaching job at any level.
For its weekly “NFL Turning Point” series, NFL Films dug up footage from that game, unearthing this great shot of a young, fresh-faced Belichick:
Here’s the full video:
The segment also features an in-depth breakdown of Cassius Marsh’s blocked field goal and this truly terrifying clip of wide receiver Brandin Cooks psyching himself up in pregame warmups:
